It Happens: Home Minister on Bengaluru Molestations

Bengaluru: Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there were enough police force deployed in Bengaluru to ensure safety of women and “such incident does happen on New Year day and Christmas”. He was reacting to the incidents of molestation in MG Road and Brigade Road during the celebrations.

“We had deployed 1500 police personnel in the area for new year’s celebrations. Such incidents do happen on New Year day and on Christmas. We take a lot of precautions,” Parmeshwara was quoted as saying by ANI .

His response came after a front-page report in Bangalore Mirror about unruly mobs who molested women who had gathered at MG Road and Brigade Road.

According to the media reports, not a single case of molestation or harassment has been registered despite photographic evidence and eyewitness accounts.

Sandeep Patil former deputy commissioner (central) of the city, under whose purview Brigade Road and MG Road fall, told Bangalore Mirror that a number of women did approach the cops seeking help when they got separated from their family members and friends.

“So we used our public address systems to locate and our men ensured they faced no hardship,” he said. This was in contradiction to what some of the other police personnel deployed on the streets had to say. A woman police officer deployed on Church Street had to chase away a couple of men trying to molest and strip a drunk woman.

Ajai Kumar Singh, retired director-general of police told the daily, “It has been the case since the 70s. Handling the New Year crowd in Bengaluru is very difficult, but that means the police department should have a clear plan and be well-prepared to ensure there are no major incidents.”